


Here's my number, so Call Me Maybe

by The_Fennec_Wolf



Series: NPCs of Vayl [4]
Category: Countless Heroes, TTRPG Streams
Genre: 5e Homebrew World, Fen is an agent of chaos and randomly shapeshifts, Haley/Rosie (if you squint), I Will Go Down With This Ship, Long Distance Friendship, Timeline: Episode 69
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-22
Updated: 2018-11-22
Packaged: 2019-08-27 15:21:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16705000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Fennec_Wolf/pseuds/The_Fennec_Wolf
Summary: Haley is surprised to receive messages on The Fox's Howl and can't help but start up a conversation. {Rating for language}





	Here's my number, so Call Me Maybe

Haley felt the ship gently rock under her as it sailed across the ocean. She still couldn’t believe that she was on a ship and sailing on the ocean. This was not how she imagined her new start would go. Fen had shown her to a small quarters aboard  _ The Fox’s Howl _ and gave her a small run down on what they did. They were essentially pirates who raided other pirates and traders who tended to be more underhanded in their dealings. When in port, the group tended to take odd jobs and earned a reputation for not being ones to mess with. She was still trying to understand just how this reputation was earned and put away the few things she brought with her when Haley felt a slight tingle at the base of her neck. 

 

“ _ Hey Haley, just wanted to make sure you didn’t get yourself killed.” _ A familiar raspy voice echoed in her mind. “ _ Thinking about you. You should come back to the Beer Forge. The sandwiches are good” _  Haley felt herself chuckle slightly at Rosie’s words as warmth spread through her body. It was nice to know that she actually had friends who cared about her well being. Sitting on the small bunk in the room, it took her a moment to think of a reply and send it off, hoping that she didn’t exceed the spell’s limits. 

 

“ _ I appreciate you checking in on me. I miss you. All of you.”  _ She hastily corrected, trying to stop her heart from beating faster than it should.  “ _ Thank you.”  _ Haley didn’t elaborate on her thank you but she hoped that Rosie knew it meant for caring, for still being her friend even though she’d abandoned Cinderhaven all together now. The former city guard felt the tingling stop as she looked around the small cabin that was now hers. A smile was plastered across her face as she began to lay on the bed and close her eyes. Before she could take a nap however, she felt the tingle return and Rosie’s voice in her mind once more. 

 

“ _ Uh, don’t wanna bother you but like, when-when you coming to visit next ‘cause, aaaahhh!”  _ Haley nearly shot out of her bunk, thinking that the goblin was in danger before realizing it was more a sound of frustration than terror. She rubbed her face, trying to understand why Rosie would end a message like that. Placing her elbows on her knees, she rested her chin on her folded hands, trying to figure out how to tell Rosie what had happened in the span of the past few days. 

 

“I’m a pirate now Rosie, sorry, don’t know when I’ll be back.” She said out loud before flopping back on the bunk with a groan. Haley knew saying that would only trigger trouble for her new...employer (that was the best way to put it right?) as her friends would try to find her and convince her she wasn’t thinking straight. Plus she was pretty sure Fen would fire on the spot for causing something like that to happen. Groaning, she lay in her bunk with an arm across her forehead as she thought of a reply for several long moments. She took a deep breath before sending her reply. 

 

“ _ It’s going to be awhile. I made some new friends.”  _ The fighter wasn’t sure if friends was the right word but it would do for now. “ _ And they put me to work.” _ She finished and looked up at the ceiling as the ship continued to rock gently. The tingling continued as once more Rosie’s voice came through causing another smile to find its way on her lips. 

 

“ _ You know, I don’t have a lot of these spells..uhh..you don’t have to answer but uh..who-who are your friends? Shit I need to stop stuttering.” _ Haley couldn’t help but laugh at the ending of the message. It was so like the charming goblin bard to say things like that. She stared up at the ceiling and wondered for a few moments. Fen hadn’t said she wasn’t allowed to tell anyone who she was working for or what ship they were traveling on. But yet, Haley didn’t want to tell anyone. If she was honest, it was because she wanted to be left alone by her former life.  

 

A fresh start away from her past and her broken heart wouldn’t be achieved if she told Rosie where she was or who she was working for. The members of the Phoenix Dawn would be able to find her and track her down, trying to convince her that she made some sort of mistake. And if they could do so, it wouldn’t be that much harder for the five that wanted her dead to hunt her down as well. Haley knew she could always ask Rosie to keep it a secret but she didn’t want to drive a wedge between the goblin and her group. Whatever problems Haley had with some of them (stupid fuckin’ Nathan Brell and his fuckin’ smug noble face), she didn’t want Rosie to have any sort of problem with her friends.  A long suffering sigh left her lips as she replied. 

 

“ _ Not sure if I can say.”  _ Haley told herself that she was telling Rosie the truth. The fighter didn’t know if she could say or not. “ _ They’re people you don’t wanna mess with.” _ She couldn’t help but giggle at her comment that she was sending, recalling Fen’s annoyance with that idea on the whole and that she wasn’t trying to hurt Rosie’s feelings along with wanting to protect her.  Feeling the tingling stop, Haley felt a sad smile tug across her lips as she lay in her bunk. 

 

Her head turned at a quiet knock, noticing Fennec standing in the doorway of her cabin. She raised an eyebrow at the sight of the fox woman in her human disguise again. 

 

“What? It’s rather fun to run around like this. I don’t have to worry about my tails hitting things in this form either. Bloody annoying those things are. Besides, if we met anyone that’s not friendly, the sight of me dropping my disguise will have them shitting their pants. It’s a great battle tactic. Especially when my fur bristles, that normally makes them piss themselves too.” Fennec pointed out with a foxy smirk. Haley just held up her hands. 

 

“No judgements here. I use to wear really heavy armor with a freaky mask. It worked well.” She rubbed her arms, trying to not recall the few times she had to wear Nocturne armor. The captain must have noticed her discomfort before humming softly. 

 

“Right, well now that you’re all settled in, I think it’s time we start putting you to work. Follow me.” Fennec turned on her heel and began to head towards the deck of the ship with Haley trotting after her to keep up. 

 

Over the next few hours, Fennec showed her how to steer  _ The Fox’s Howl  _  along with what the various things that she would need to know if she wanted to be the helmswoman for the ship. Haley retired to her quarters feeling exhausted but as if she’d accomplished much.  The next day as she continued to learn how to sail, a familiar tingle started at the base of her neck as Rosie’s voice echoed in her head. 

 

“ _ AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”  _ She couldn’t help but laugh out loud, getting a smirk from Fennec, who was sitting nearby and smoking a pipe, this time with no disguise. 

 

“Hmm, freedom suits you Ms. Haley. I can’t say I’ve had someone find as much joy in it as you do. ” The fox woman teased as she blew out a stream of smoke from her nose with mirth in her eyes. Haley looked over the expanse of the sea as she smiled softly. 

 

“Indeed.”  The former guard said as she returned her attention to the wheel.  

 

Several hours later, she was in her room and pulling on a loose shirt when she felt the tingle once more. 

 

“ _ Hey...so umm...how-how was your day?” _ She heard Rosie ask her softly. Haley felt the warmth return as she smiled and replied to the message. 

 

“ _ It was good. Learned how to sail. Made my boss laugh. You?” _ The human woman settled into the bunk wrapping the blanket around her. A small chuckle left her mouth at Rosie’s answer. 

 

“ _ Got to bite someone and got some drinks out of it. We’re all friends now.”  _ The raspy reply caused her to chuckle as she felt her eyes grow heavy. 

 

“ _ Sounds like a good day. Glad you had fun. I hope you were safe?”  _ She asked softly, not wanting to overstep but Haley couldn’t help worrying about Rosie. 

 

“ _ Yeah. I’m fine. Nathan got turned into a sheep. It was pretty funny.” _ Haley knew she should felt bad for laughing as hard as she did but it felt nice for that smarmy fucking bastard to have something bad happen to him. She sighed and smiled as she felt her eyes start to flutter shut. 

 

“ _ Yeah, that sounds funny. Hey, Rosie, thanks for this. Have a good night, okay?” _ She managed to reply as sleep slowly began to pull her into the land of dreams. 

  
“ _ You’re welcome. And you too” _ Haley heard as she fell asleep with a smile on her face. 

**Author's Note:**

> I like this ship. It is a good ship. 
> 
> Also, go check out Countless Heroes at twitch.tv/wearenerdsmith . You won't be disappointed. That is all *nods*


End file.
